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Blog Post: Responsively Retrofitting An Existing Site

For some, this Smashing Magazine article is sacrilege. How could you possibly take a complex existing website and retrofit it to a responsive design? For others, it can seem darn near impossible. What if you have too many features and customization build in to your platform?

Many companies (including my own) are asking themselves similar questions in weighing how to move their products ahead of the curve and onto a single platform. Part of that push and pull will be taking a hard look at their Google data to see what scared cow of a feature isn’t really that necessary.

Several of the new, responsive designs I have been testing lately are taking a minimal approach. It’s easier to have objects wrap to the size of the screen if there are less of them. We all know that many industries don’t have that option.

In most situations, it is possible to make this transition without rebuilding the framework and platform from scratch. As my boss told me, it’s not about showing off the entire package at once. Making the responsive transition is more about a plan that delivers incremental progress.

My name is Chris Murman, thanks for visiting my space.
As an IT consultant, I am constantly in search of ways to make the work we do better. This means bringing a lean focus to the products we make, a holistic approach to agile business processes, or an intense focus on the technologies of tomorrow.
This blog is a collection of all thoughts related to those, and many more endeavors. Come participate in the conversation with me!